Call for Proposals — Rouge Forum 2014
The Struggle for Social Justice Inside and Outside the Classroom
June 5-7, 2014
Metropolitan State University of Denver
Denver, Colorado
Join Us!!!

The core issue of our time is the clash of the real threat for perpetual war,
climate chaos and catastrophe, and booming inequality met by the potential of
connecting reason to power with organized mass class conscious resistance
geared to the construction of a society grounded in substantive
democracy. The vital role schools play within communities brings
forth its role as a central organizing site of community wide and global
resistance.

To deepen and clarify our understanding of social justice and to develop
pedagogies that will lead to organized mass class conscious resistance within
schools and communities to overcome injustices, the Rouge Forum’s national
conference brings together academic presentations, panel discussions,
performances, dialogue, community building, and cultural events.

This year’s national conference, The Struggle for Social Justice Inside and
Outside the Classroom, is intended to bring forward that interconnectedness
between what happens inside and outside classrooms. The economic
polarization over the past thirty years has enriched and empowered the ruling
class. The central role schools play for the ruling class in the
(re)production of unequal social relations and its reinforcing ideological
structure has become more intense as inequality expands. However, schools
have the possibility to resist this ruling class domination by challenging the
historical role of schools and turning them into sites of resistance and
transformation. In other words, schools can become central sites in the
class struggle. Thus, what we do as students, educators and community
members counts because we can either take the side of increased inequality and
authoritarianism, or work to bring about social justice. Join us at
the Rouge Forum in Denver.

To address the Struggle for Social Justice Inside and Outside the Classroom,
the Rouge Forum’s national conference will center on such questions as:
* How does inequality affect our classrooms, schools and communities?
* What is behind the intensification of K-12 factory schooling especially with
the increased mania for core curriculum and the accompanying high stakes
standardized testing? How are teachers responding to this intensification?
* What role do capitalism, imperialism and war play in our classrooms, schools
and communities?
* What can we learn from our daily individual actions, more concerted actions
within the United States
such as the Occupy Movement and the Chicago
teacher strike, and international actions to make us smarter and stronger in
our struggle for social justice?
* What do we envision as a better society and how can we root that vision in
the past to guide our actions in the present?
* What pedagogies are necessary to liberate ourselves from the oppressive
structures and social relations that give rise to inequality?

Consider participating in the Rouge Forum in Denver and submit a proposal addressing the
conference themes.

Individual Proposal (30 minutes)
The Rouge Forum welcomes individual proposals, with the understanding that
those accepted might be grouped together around common or overlapping
themes. Presenters will have approximately 20 minutes to present
with ten minutes for interaction and discussion with audience members. Individual
paper submissions will be considered for panels with the same
topic/theme. A 250-750 word abstract will be peer reviewed for
acceptance to the conference.

Panel Proposal (60-75 minutes)
A panel discussion is another venue available presenters. A panel discussion is
typically composed of three to six participants who discuss their work within
the context of a dialogue or conversation on a topic or theme related to the
conference theme. Typically, each panelist is given 10 minutes to discuss
the topic, present theoretical ideas, and/or point to relevant research. A
chair should be identified who introduces the panel and frames the issues and
questions being addressed. In addition to the chair, we encourage (but do not
require) organizers of panels to name a discussant to the comments of the
panelists. Individual proposal submissions will be combined into panels with
the same theme/topic. A 250-750 word abstract of the panel discussion will be
peer reviewed for acceptance to the conference.

Alternative Format and Special Interest Groups (30-60 minutes)
Alternative proposals that do not fit into the above categories, such as
workshops, performances, video and multimedia presentations are
encouraged. We also welcome proposals for the organization of
special interest groups. A 250-750 word abstract of the proposal will be peer
reviewed for acceptance to the conference.

Dialogues (30 minutes) A dialogue session would provide an opportunity for a
“presenter” to facilitate a conversation around a particular issue. A
250-750 word abstract of the proposal will be peer reviewed for acceptance to
the conference.

SUBMISSIONS: Deadline for submissions is February 1, 2014. To
submit a proposal click here.
QUESTIONS: For questions, contact Faith Wilson at fwilson@aurora.edu.

About Me

I am a Visiting Fellow in the College of Social Science at the University of Lincoln. I was previously a Visiting Scholar in the Department of Education at Anglia Ruskin University (2014-15). Prior to that, I was previously a Senior Lecturer in Education Studies at the University of Northampton. My interests are in Marxist educational theory, the future of the human and social time. The Rikowski family web site, The Flow of Ideas can be found at: http://www.flowideas.co.uk,
My Wordpress blog, 'All that is Solid for Glenn Rikowski' is at: http://rikowski.wordpress.com,
Glenn Rikowski @ Academia: http://independent.academia.edu/GlennRikowski